Nuclear medicine employs radioactive material for therapy and diagnostic imaging. Positron emission tomography (PET) is one type of diagnostic imaging, which utilizes doses of radiopharmaceutical, for example, generated by elution within a radioisotope generator, that are injected, or infused into a patient. The infused dose of radiopharmaceutical is absorbed by cells of a target organ, of the patient, and emits radiation, which is detected by a PET scanner, in order to generate an image of the organ. An example of a radioactive isotope, which may be used for PET, is Rubidium-82 (produced by the decay of Strontium-82); and an example of a radioisotope generator, which yields a saline solution of Rubidium-82, via elution, is the CardioGen-82® available from Bracco Diagnostics Inc. (Princeton, N.J.).
A radiopharmaceutical infusion system is typically supported by a cabinet structure which is formed, in part, by a shell; the shell surrounds an interior space, in which at least a portion of the system is contained, and includes an upper exterior working surface, which provides an operating interface for the system, and which may hold supplies that are necessary for both the operation and maintenance of the system. Furthermore, the cabinet structure may include wheels allowing for system mobility. Because portions of the infusion system, that are contained within the interior space, require regular maintenance, for example, daily and/or monthly, the shell typically includes an opening through which technical personnel may access the interior space.
An efficiency in interacting with radiopharmaceutical infusion systems, either for operation or maintenance, is highly desired by those who work with these systems on a routine basis, in order to limit their exposure to radioactive radiation. Thus there is a need for new cabinet structures that facilitate more efficient and organized interaction with radiopharmaceutical infusion systems.